In laser printers of today, time to first print is often limited to the printhead lock time, which is the time period provided to permit the rotating printhead mirror to reach printing speed. Printhead lock is simply the stable operation of the laser printhead at a predetermined speed, and printhead lock time is the time period from start from inactive or partially active to assure printhead lock.
Moreover, some printers are operating at increasingly higher speeds, and such higher speeds require longer times to reach lock. Conventional imaging devices print jobs of a predetermined kind, such as ordinary text printing, at the maximum speed of the printer for such printing. This invention achieves reduced printing time by not printing certain jobs at the maximum speed of the imaging device for such printing.